5.30pm: At least one Mitt Romney supporter has changed sides in the wake of Obama's support for same-sex marriage. Bill White, an openly gay man who had donated to Romney's camapign, has written the Republican candidate a letter that CNN also received:

I feel that I no longer wish to support your presidential campaign and ask that you please return the maximum contribution that I gave to you last year... You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer.

After hearing Romney's address at Liberty University on the weekend, White wrote: "I believe that you will do as you now say and try to force a constitutional amendment which would attempt to make my own legal and blessed marriage null and void."

And with that, we shall say good evening.

5.20pm:Barack Obama, meanwhile, is at a fundraising event in New York City, where he cautions that the coming presidential election is going to be a close one:

Short of winning the nomination, Paul's aim throughout the primary has been to achieve recognition for his ideas and to get libertarians accepted as part of the Republican Party's larger coalition. Racking up primary votes and encouraging his supporters to embed themselves within their local GOP infrastructure are ways of forcing the establishment to accept that there are a lot of people out there who believe what Paul believes, and they're here to stay. But the chaos now afoot threatens to undermine any inroads Paul has made by once again casting his supporters as hostile invaders bent on overthrowing the Republican Party from within.

But there is no truth that Ron Paul plans to change his name to Metta World Peace, like another famous Ron.

But the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported at the time (via Nexis), that Bain was just one of eight financiers for the project – hardly the lone white knight:

Financing to build the plant is coming from the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, NBD Bank, Fort Wayne National Bank, Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Germany and the Paris Bank. Capital and Bain Capital are also investors.

And while the video touts Romney's "private-sector" team, the company was successful thanks, in part, to big government subsidies and grants – $37m from the state of Indiana and DeKalb County.

4.10pm: There's an interesting Republican senatorial primary in Nebraska tomorrow. While two more mainstream Republican candidates – Jon Bruning and Don Stenberg – have been slugging it out, the Tea Party-backed Deb Fischer has been gaining ground.

Here's one of Fischer's ads – note the cows labelled "Stenberg" and "Bruning" while the announcer intones "Tired of the same old politician bull?" – which is pretty punchy and hits all the Tea Party buttons.

It's not quite that simple: Bruning has been backed by the Tea Party's spiritual godfather, Senator Jim DeMint, for example, while Sarah Palin is backing Fischer. But two polls show it to be a tight race between the pair.

The battle is for the seat held by the Democratic party's retiring Ben Nelson – and former senator Bob Kerrey is likely to be the Democratic nominee awaiting the winner.

One argument for Pawlenty is that he would help the ticket among evangelical Christians who are suspicious of Mormonism.

Other names will be floated but, under the campaign's current theory of the case, are long shots: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is said by insiders to want it the most and also to annoy some aides with his aggressiveness; Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is not being as seriously considered as popularly believed because aides don't see him as experienced enough or appropriately vetted.

They have put together a team of more than 100 statisticians, predictive modellers, data mining experts, mathematicians, software engineers, bloggers, internet advertising experts and online organisers at the Obama For America headquarters in downtown Chicago, which has been labouring since its start to craft a new generation of digital campaign tools.

They are keeping specific details about Dashboard heavily under wraps for fear that they might lose the substantial advantage they now enjoy over their rivals in the Romney campaign.

"The procedures took a back seat to physical altercations," says the local anchor. And as you'd expect for a brawl involving Ron Paul and Mitt Romney supporters, it all went down at an Embassy Suites.

3.19pm: An interesting Reuters piece interviews US army veterans on who they are likely to vote for president in November and finds – surprise, surprise – that they are as conflicted about the choice as the rest of the country:

The GOP's heated rhetoric, aimed at the party's traditional hawks, might be expected to resonate with veterans. Yet in interviews in South Carolina, a military-friendly red state, many former soldiers expressed anger at the toll of a decade of war, questioned the legitimacy of George Bush's Iraq invasion, and worried that the surge in Afghanistan won't make a difference in the long run.

3.10pm: One big difference between British and American politics – apart from the accents and the socialism – appears to be: lack of Rupert Murdoch on this side of the Atlantic.

British prime ministers, on the other hand, don't have to ask anyone. They invite Rupert over for tea on multiple occasions, along with his children, co-workers and executives. It's one big happy family.

3pm: Will Mitt Romney meet British prime minister David Cameron in London during the summer? According to the FT, it's sounding likely, although the Romney campaign is all "no comment" on the subject:

A face-to-face meeting with Mr Romney would help to smooth any sore feelings over Mr Cameron's extremely friendly visit to Washington in March, when President Barack Obama flew him on Air Force One to watch a basketball match in Ohio.

Mr Cameron's team say the prime minister would like to meet Mr Romney, the presumptive Republican party nominee, probably around the start of the London Olympics on July 27.

Certainly the British sound keen, with one official telling the FT "the idea is that [Romney] would certainly get a generous reception from Cameron".

Romney could do with the exposure and the chance to do a bit of statesmanlike posing, since foreign policy is a hige hole in his resume. What Cameron gets out of it isn't so clear, other than hedging their bets in case Romney wins in November.

2.50pm: Something that has always puzzled me about America is why trenchant social conservatives – such as, say, Sarah Palin – give their children remarkably unconservative names like Trig, Track, Willow and Piper. Meanwhile, radical socialist class warrior Nancy Pelosi called her children Paul and Christine.

On the heels of the latest official list of most popular children's names, here's the sensible explanation from Laura Wattenberg, founder of BabyNameWizard.com, via NPR:

The reason for more outlandish-sounding names cropping up in conservative quarters is simple, Wattenberg says. Women in red states tend to have their first children earlier than women in blue states. A 23-year-old mom is more likely to come up with something out of the ordinary than one who is 33.

Time, Newsweek, there's a cover for you right there.

2.42pm: New Mexico governor Susana Martinez has been tagged as a potential vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney, although she has firmly insisted that she's not interested, for commendable personal reasons.

And it would appear she wasn't kidding, either, based on her view of where the Republican party should be on immigration, in an interview with Newsweek:

It's a topic she has been reluctant to discuss since winning the Republican primary in 2010, so what comes next is surprising: a battle plan that contradicts nearly everything the GOP has been doing and saying since 2007, Romney's "self-deportation" strategy included. "'Self-deport?' What the heck does that mean?" Martinez snaps. "I have no doubt Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign. But now there's an opportunity for Governor Romney to have a sincere conversation about what we can do and why."

Naturally, Martinez has some suggestions. First, Republicans should remind Latinos that Obama pledged to pass comprehensive immigration reform by the end of his initial year in office, but "didn't even have the courage to try." Next, the GOP should outflank the president – on the left – by proposing its own comprehensive plan.

Outflank Obama on the left? Yes that sounds like today's GOP all right.

2.22pm: While President Obama was addressing the graduands at Barnard, there was a surprising development in the Republican presidential contest.

Ron Paul, the doughty presidential candidate, announced via a statement, that he will no longer be running an active campaign:

Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of Liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state, and Congressional elections, where so many defenders of Freedom are fighting and need your support.

I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned.

Ron Paul was the last hold-out from the inevitable march to triumph for Mitt Romney. As someone once said: They think it's all over. It is now.

This is Richard Adams, taking over from Tom McCarthy's excellent live-blogging of President Obama's commencement address.

2.12pm: That wraps up our live coverage of the president's commencement address at Barnard College.

If the president set out to shore up his status as the candidate with the best record on women's issues, he went about it not by harping on policy initiatives but by mentioning the issues and then telling personal stories about the influence of women throughout his life.

This was the president's home court, his sympathetic audience, the kind of crowd who could listen to him tell stories about Michelle all day. Literally, not just figuratively.

Does this speech help the president expand his appeal beyond his base? There's the feeling that he is preaching to the choir. But maybe that's a smart thing to do every once in a while. Maybe now the rest of the national congregation will get the message more forcefully when the choir turns around to sing.

2.00pm: Now some rhetorical flourish from the president, and his first allusion to his coming out in support of gay marriage:

"That's how we achieved women's rights, that's how we achieved voting rights, that's how we achieved worker's rights, that's how we achieved gay rights."

The "gay rights" bit brings a burst of cheers.

Here's a picture of the populist tone the president is out to strike this election cycle. He stands and intones the rights of workers, the rights of women. He's plausible in this role.

The students are chanting "Obama! Obama!" as he makes his exit.

1.56pm: The president is lecturing on the importance of perseverance.

"I got it from watching the women who shaped my life. I grew up as the son of a single mom... she had marriages fall apart... but she didn't quit.

"My mom ended up dedicating herself to helping women around the world get the money they needed to start their own businesses. She was a pioneer in microfinance."

Obama talks about his grandmother, who went to work for a bank, "hit the glass ceiling" and watched men she'd trained pass her on the corporate ladder. "But she didn't quit."

The president talks about Michelle Obama, and the tension of work-family balance. "We persisted. We made that marriage work. But the reason that Michelle had the strength to balance everything ... is because she too grew up in a family of folks who didn't quit."

"Those are the folks who inspire me. Those quiet heroes all across this country--some of your parents and grandparents who are sitting here. No fanfare. No articles written about them... They just persevere. They don't quit. I'm here because of them."

That line has a political edge to it. Obama says "let's face it," Congress would work better if there were more women on Capitol Hill.

The president talks about a friend, the daughter of immigrants who was discouraged from attending college and told to become a secretary. She ignored that advice and went to college.

"Lo and behold, Hilda Solis did end up becoming a secretary – she is America's secretary of labor!"

Big applause.

"Think about what that means to a young Latina girl, when she sees a Cabinet secretary who looks like her... Do not underestimate the power of your example."

All this section of the speech might be taken as putting forward an answer to the question of who's really helping to win the "war on women."

1.39pm: "As tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I have seen your passion, and I have seen your service."

The president made a passing reference to "reproductive rights" and he mentioned equal work for equal pay. But he is not dwelling on the hot-button issues that define the current discourse on women and which politician does most for them.

"All of you will help lead the way. I recognize that that's a cheap applause line. But it's true. In part it is simple math. Today women are not just half this country -- it's half its workforce."

He says women are out-earning their husbands, and they're more than half the nation's earners of graduate degrees. "You've got us outnumbered," he says. That gets a laugh.

President Barack Obama speaks at Barnard College. A screen grab from C-Span.

1.34pm: "Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep, Sheryl Sandberg, these are not easy acts to follow." [Update/clarification: the trio were the last three to speak at Barnard's commencement.]

President Obama recalls his graduation in 1983. "Music was all about Michael and the moonwalk."

Then he has to chide someone in the crowd, off-camera.

"No moonwalking!" the president says.

This is history's first known instance of a president remonstrating with an audience member for moonwalking (if that is indeed what she did).

Now the president is turning to material that is not so cheer-able. He cites unemployment figures. Acknowledges the bleak jobs landscape.

1.28pm: The president is on. Huge cheers. Let's listen.

1.20pm: The president is being awarded the Barnard Medal of Distinction, the college's highest honor. He is smiling as the citation is read. Still waiting to speak.

1.12pm: Twitter isn't being very nice to these young speakers preceding the president at the lectern at Barnard College (livestream here).

He's not on yet. We're currently hearing from the class president. "With all due respect Mr. President, it is a good thing that none of the women from the class of 2012 are running for president this year!"

(Because if any of them were she would win!)

Cheers.

12.42pm: The contrast between Obama's planned speech today at Barnard College and Mitt Romney's speech Saturday at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia could not be sharper.

Barnard is 123 years old. Liberty is 41 years old. Barnard is a pioneer in the education of women. Liberty is a pioneer in the education of evangelical Christians.Barnard was founded by the writer and activist Annie Nathan Meyer. Liberty was founded by the televangelist Jerry Falwell.Romney used his speech to take a dig at Obama's support for gay marriage. Obama is likely to use his speech to reiterate that support and make a broader case for his record on civil rights and women's health.

12.27pm:President Obama is in New York City today to tape an appearance on "The View" and to deliver the commencement address at Barnard College, part of Columbia University.

We will be live blogging the speech, which is scheduled to be broadcast live at 12:35.

How did Barnard, an all-women's college, nab the president as graduation day speaker? It was all the White House's idea.

In early March, as the administration drew Republicans into a debate over contraception and health insurance, someone in the White House realized that a great way to showcase the president's support for women's health would be to have him speak at one of the country's most historically significant institutions of higher learning for women.

Barnard agreed to bump scheduled commencement speaker Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times.

Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

12.03pm: Both Newsweek and the New Yorker put the president's support for gay marriage on their covers this week.

The Newsweek cover may or may not be creating a controversy, depending on whether you believe everything you see on TV. CNN for one just aired a story claiming that the Newsweek cover is creating a controversy. They interviewed two people who are able to get offended by magazine covers.

This week's Newsweek cover.

The headline of the Newsweek story is the target of a large share of the outrage. How can they call Barack Obama the first gay president when he's not even gay?

"I am honored to be doing this cover. It's a celebratory moment for our country, and that's what I tried to capture. (I don't especially like those rainbow colors, but they are what they are—I had to use them.) I wanted to celebrate the bravery of the President's statement—a statement long overdue—but all the more appreciated in this political year. We are on the right side of history." —Bob Staake, the artist who created "Spectrum of Light," the cover of next week's issue.

9.45am: Good morning and welcome to Monday's US politics live blog, and here's a summary by Ryan Devereaux of where we are so far.

•The Obama campaign's latest offensive takes aim at Mitt Romney's jobs record. A new two-minute ad from the president's team focuses on the former governor's time at Bain Capital and the acquisition, and shutting down, of a GST Steel plant. Workers are featured in the clip laying the blame on Romney, with one directly challenging the presidential hopeful's business savvy by saying: "I know how business works. I know why jobs come and why they go. As I look around at the millions of Americans without work, it breaks my heart."

•A new Gallup poll reveals a gender gap on the issue of same-sex marriage. While 56% of women support same sex couples having the right to marry, just 42% of men do. Overall the poll found 50% of Americans support same sex marriage. The issue has taken centre stage over the last week following president Obama's historic announcement that he supports same sex marriage, an announcement that came just one day after North Carolina passed a constitutional ban on legally recognized same sex unions.

•Romney made an appearance at Liberty University over the weekend, the conservative religious school that was founded by the Rev Jerry Falwell, a man who once linked 9/11 to society's embrace of homosexuality (among countless other homophobic proclamations). Romney largely avoided the topic of same sex marriage, however. When he did discuss the issue, he did so by linking himself to his former rival, Rick Santorum, who is popular among the Christian right. Romney pointed to a Brookings Institute study he said Santorum brought to his attention which claims those who graduate from high school, marry before having children and have a full-time job are likely to have better economic situations.

•Rick Santorum has urged Romney to use same sex marriage to attack president Obama. Appearing on CNN, Santorum called the issue a "potent weapon" Romney could use to "take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America".

•Mitt Romney has been reluctant to take the sort of aggressive approach to same-sex marriage that Santorum has advocated. In an interview with CBN, Romney suggested that he's waiting to see if the issue has staying power, saying "What I speak about day to day in some respects reflects what I'm being asked about. And so those issues, by virtue of the president's change of view on this topic has become more current today. How important it is to the people a few months from now, time will tell."